Dreams
by Sticks
Summary: Serena is Neo-Queen Serenity, and fighting with some tough issues.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I own Sailor Moon! Not really, but a girl can   
dream, can't she? Oh well. Anyway, this takes place far in   
the future, when Serena is Neo-Queen Serenity. It's a short   
piece, but I'm debating whether or not to elaborate on it.   
Well, tell me what you think, and feel free to let me know of   
any corrections that must be made. ?  
  
  
Now on with the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
??????  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was but a little after three in the morning when she   
had heard the cry. The same panicked wail of a child missing   
a parent. Serena sighed. Three years ago Mamoru had left,   
breaking apart the family they had begun and leaving the   
peaceful kingdom of Crystal Tokyo in disarray.   
  
The cries grew louder. Serena could hear it clearly; the   
torment of a child tossed around in an endless nightmare.   
  
"Even if Darien decided he didn't love me anymore,"   
Serena thought, "he could have stayed for Rini."   
  
Quietly, she pulled herself out of the bed and walked   
along the marble halls of the palace. It felt like a knife in her   
heart at every sound of her child's pain.   
  
Once she had reached the doorway to Rini's room, she   
paused, listening to the five-year-old girl in her bed. Swiftly,   
she crossed the chamber to shut the window on the opposite   
side.   
  
"Rini?" she called into the darkness, feeling her   
daughter's bright pink eyes on her own blue.   
  
"Momma?" came the tear-choked, muffled response of   
Crystal Tokyo's Princess. Her child. Her Rini.   
  
"I'm here, little one." Serena sat down softly on the   
beautiful feather mattress and pulled the child into her lap.   
She sat there for a moment, head nuzzled into her mother's   
bosom, watching the Earth through her window.   
  
The blankets were wrapped tight around the girl, and   
Serena felt guilt and love as she gently brushed a silky   
strand of Rini's hair out of her eyes.   
  
"I couldn't tell dear Mamo-chan," she thought, and her   
lip trembled slightly. "How can I tell you this secret?" She   
looked out of the billowing sheer curtains of the glass pane   
into the serenity of the night. In the distance she saw stars,   
sparkling in the heavens. She stared harder, and could see,   
just visible, the greenish-blue outline of the Earth. Mamoru's   
home. Where she had been born, where she had lived.   
Where the girls, Princesses in their own rights, left royal   
responsibilities for the simple life of Earth; dreams, desires,   
love.   
  
It was her responsibility to guard the peace of the   
planets, for she was Neo-Queen Serenity.  
  
"Destiny," she thought, "I was given a destiny, a   
responsibility that I have to fulfill." She glanced once more   
at the now gently sleeping child in her lap, and wondered   
what she had done to deserve this love. It was pure   
devotion, with none of the wavering doubts that had plagued   
her romance with Mamoru. It was the simple adoration of a   
daughter for her mother.  
  
Watching her daughter, Serena again wondered what   
had become of Endymion. Was he living peaceably on Earth,   
or perhaps once again sharing the Mars Senshi's bed?  
  
"I need him so badly," she whispered, "I can't do this   
alone." Gently she stroked Rini's fluffy pink hair, tears   
running unbidden down her ivory cheeks.   
  
"How do I tell you, little one, that I won't be there   
when you start school?" she thought. "How can I explain to   
you I won't be there for you when you become a teenager,   
lost in all the hazards of adolescence? How can I say to you   
that I won't be there on your wedding day?  
  
"What right do I have to leave you like this?" The tears   
were pouring from her blue eyes now, and she said softly,   
sadly, "How do I tell you, my little Rini, that I'm dying?"   
  
She watched, with traces of guilt, as the girl slept on,   
peacefully for the first time in days. A look of determination   
crossed her features as she gazed down at the sleeping   
figure of her child.   
  
"You'll know," she said, "when the time comes. For now   
it's enough that you know I love you, now and forevermore."   
  
  
  
  
??????  
  
Sad, I know… Do you think I should continue and   
elaborate? Well, please review and let me know what you   
think!   
Lady Pluto  
  
  



	2. Dreams chapter two- Memories and Flashba...

Hey, ya'll

Hey, ya'll!What's up? Well, part two is finally here! [insert drum roll]Yeah, I know I took a little while, but things are starting to speed up in the fic, which will be really obvious in parts three and four (out very soon, need to type and upload)Well, let me know what you think!

Disclaimer- I don't own Sailor Moon. [sigh] Pioneer and Naoko Takeuchi do.

Well, let's get on with it already!

JJJJJ

Serena walked silently through the halls back to her chambers. At last, the small girl was peacefully and blissfully asleep. She smiled, remembering the way her daughter had clung to her for support and love in the darkness of the night. Usagi knew that Rini loved her, and she also knew she would do anything necessary to protect her child. 

She stole a glance at her window to see the inky black sky warming to a rich blue. Usagi groaned. There was much to be done if the annual reunion of the Senshi was to occur this weekend, and she had barely gotten any sleep. 

"Another hour couldn't hurt." She said, and crawled into the bed to rest her weary body. The tears of earlier had dried and smeared on her pale cheeks, her eyes burning with fatigue and sorrow. 

It was unfair, perhaps, but Usagi would not tell the Senshi until it was imperative she do so. Makoto would fuss over her, Ami would demand a second opinion, Mina would cry and become over emotional, and Raye…

Serena sighed sadly at the distance that had come between her and the raven-haired girl she had once considered her greatest friend. She had no idea what the Mars Senshi did now, for they had not met since Rini's birth. 

The tears formed in her ocean-blue eyes again as she thought about that night. The night her daughter, her beloved Rini, had come into existence and taken her first breath. They had all been together then, her and Mamoru and the Senshi, Outers and Inners, working together for peace and a brighter future. 

Yet barely five months later, when the girl was almost sitting on her own, Serena had heard the heart-breaking words from Mamoru that no one wishes to hear. 

"I'm leaving." He said flatly. Usagi had just walked into the bedroom from the nursery, where the young Rini lay asleep. Her first reaction was of surprise and hurt, but it quickly turned to anger and betrayal. 

"Don't try to stop me," Mamoru warned, "I've had enough."

Usagi bit her lip to hold back the angry retort she longed to throw at her husband.

"Why, Mamoru?" she said. He gave her a cold stare, his dark eyes free of the warmth and tenderness he had once regarded her with. 

"It has taken me a long time to realize it, but I don't love you," he watched her as his words broke her heart.

"So this is what you want then?" she responded quietly. Darien looked up, his deep blue eyes meeting her own, unsure of what to do. He had expected tears, begging, pleading, but this calm acceptance unnerved him. 

"Yes, Usako." He said, more gently this time. "I don't want to be King, and I didn't want to be forced into a marriage that was to happen thousands of years ago. Times change," Mamoru sadly shook his head; "people change."

"Then all the more reason to let you go." Serena said softly. "I won't force you to stay, Endymion, and I hope you are happy with the one you love."

"Oh, Usako…" Mamoru felt ashamed of the hurt he caused this pure, loving woman, and was sorry he couldn't love her the way that she wanted. It simply wasn't meant to be, and he regretted not understanding it earlier.

He stepped forward to put his arms around her, one last time, but she held up a hand to stop him. Sorrow and guilt ran awash over him, and Darien bowed his head in shame. 

"No, Mamoru. I am yours no longer," she paused, watching him out of her bright, ocean blue-eyes. 

"But I ask you this; remember our child. Remember Rini." 

Abruptly, she turned to leave, calling over her shoulder-

"Anything you should need will be available to you." Usagi stopped, then turned to face him.

"Good-bye, Mamoru."

"Usagi?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Mamoru gazed at her as she blinked slowly and left the room that they had once shared. 

******

Serena turned over in the bed, remembering that far-away night when her life had shattered. She had loved him so, he had been her One, her Only, her life, and he had left. He was gone; he had abandoned both her and their child.

"You had a choice, Endymion," she snarled into the budding morning, "I have none."

She sobbed into her pillow, loudly at first, but gradually quieter as the haze of sleep blanketed her consciousness and she thought no more. 

LLLLL

Well, whadda ya think? Part three is coming out soon, and this one would have been sooner, but with Easter and all I was busy. See ya'll,

Lady Pluto


	3. Dreams chapter three- The Morning After

Hey, ya'll! It's part three! [smiles and takes a bow]Well, I know it's sad so far, but it'll get better... Eventually. 

[grins evilly] Now here's the big question- will Usagi die? What is she dying of?Maybe you'll know in this part... then again, maybe not.Well, here it is! Ta-dah!

Disclaimer- I don't own Sailor Moon. Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer do, so don't sue me! (the plot's all mine, though!)

Part three-

******

Usagi awoke later that day to the many preparations that had to be done. Hurriedly, she dressed and left to an inner room of Crystal Tokyo's palace, one of her favorites. 

"Hey, girlfriend." Haruka and Michiru were the only Senshi to stay in Crystal Tokyo and live with the Queen. They were seated at a table intricately carved from mahogany wood, drinking the morning's tea.

Serenity nodded a greeting before grabbing a chair and sitting herself. 

"Are you sure you're up to this?" asked Amara. She and Michelle exchanged a glance, waiting for Usagi's reply. 

"Of course. It will be great to see all the Senshi again." Michiru frowned, not in the least convinced. 

"Usagi," she said, "we've known you since high school. Is there something you're not telling us?"

Both she and Haruka had noticed that Serena had been acting differently lately, completely unlike her usual lively self. She was aloof and restless, withdrawn and moody, and it worried the two Senshi. 

Serena averted her eyes from those of her friends', and turned her gaze to a smudge of dirt on the recently cleaned floor. 

"Usako?" Michiru asked kindly, and laid her arm on her distraught friend's, gently probing for information. 

"It's nothing," said Usagi quietly, but still refusing to meet their gaze with her own. 

Violently, Haruka stood up and swore so badly that Michiru flushed and Usagi's ivory cheeks turned slightly pink. In her sudden anger, the chair she had sat in had flipped over and tea had spilled across the table. With a sigh, Michiru patiently wiped the liquid from the wood and righted the chair. 

"Does it have to do with that bastard Mamoru and his Mars whore?"Haruka was highly protective of Usagi, and anything that caused her queen the slightest pain was a great insult and cause of anger to the Uranus Senshi. 

"Haruka!" Michelle chided, watching Serena tremble and the color that Amara's vehemence had aroused fade quickly from her skin. 

"I'm sorry, Usako." Amara softened, regarding the queen with the warmth one would have for a younger sister.

"I just can't believe he could do this to you."

Serena bit her lip with anxiety and discomfort, and stirred her tea under Michiru's concerned gaze.

"Did Raye have any decency? She was one of Usagi's best friends, and a Senshi too. Friends aren't supposed to run around with their friends' husbands..." 

"Haruka..." Michiru warned. 

Usagi looked up, her blue eyes determined and firm as she brushed a strand of golden hair off her shoulder. 

"What's done is done. If he truly loves her, and she him, then I wish them the best of luck and happiness. I won't stand in the way of love." 

Michiru and Haruka shared a glance, surprised by Serena's strength and resolve. Amara would have liked to continue, but the tone of Usagi's voice made it quite clear that the conversation was finished. 

"Where's Rini?" asked Serenity briskly. 

Michiru sighed, knowing that their opportunity for information was over.

"Last time I checked, she was outside," she said resignedly. Serena nodded and left the room, shoes clicking on the polished floor. 

With Usagi gone, Haruka stood and walked to the window, where she watched Chibiusa as the small girl played on the grass. 

"Something's wrong, Haruka, and I don't think it's about Mamoru." Michiru said, her eyes following the path Serena had taken. 

"I think you're right, Michiru, and I wish I knew what it was."

****

There ya have it, peeps! Part three is done and over. What do you think now, with Amara and Michelle suspicious? Well, if you have any ideas, e-mail me at[lisametcalfe@hotmail.com][1]Thanks, and bye ya'll!

Lady Pluto

   [1]: mailto:lisametcalfe@hotmail.com



	4. Awakenings

What's up, ya'll

What's up, ya'll? Well, this is part four (finally!) I'm starting to run low on ideas, so it may take longer for part five, but it'll be out as soon as possible. Let me know what you think, and give me ideas if you like. 

Disclaimer; I don't own Sailor Moon. Pioneer and Naoko Takeuchi do. Good for them! 

Well, here it is- part four.

*****

"I know Haruka and Michiru want to know what's wrong," Serena thought as she walked outside, "but how can I explain to them something I haven't even come to terms with myself?" 

Her spirits brightened as she saw Rini run around the small garden, full of the joy of life. Oh, how she loved her daughter, reveled in every moment she spent with her child. Her love with Mamoru had been shattered in an instant; but this was love eternal, pure, and she cherished it. 

"Momma, come play!" The little girl ordered, her face alight with happiness. 

"All right, Rini." Serena laughed, chasing her daughter through the trees. With a squeal of delight, the young girl took off and jumped along the stepping-stones of a small, bubbling creek. 

The creek bordered the forest, where massive oak trees grew and flourished, spreading their great limbs to the sky.Once Usagi had caught the girl, she lifted her high into the air and twirled around while Rini giggled in glee. 

Yet just as she gently laid the girl on the dewy grass, Usagi felt the spasm as it ran throughout her body. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she slumped against a tree, a faint moan escaping her lips. 

She closed her eyes, bringing a hand to her forehead. 

Her breathing was labored, yet shallow, and when her eyes opened the world swam before her, only to turn black as she hit the dirt. 

"Momma!!" screamed a panicked Rini, as palace guards ran over, as bewildered as the frightened child. 

"Queen Serenity!"

"Someone call a doctor!"

Her body was limp and lifeless as they carried her inside, her golden hair trailing on the ground. 

"_Momma!!!"_ Rini was hysterical now, half screaming, half crying as she watched the motionless form of her mother being lifted away. 

Drawn by the intense commotion, Haruka and Michiru arrived in the garden to see the frantic child and her unconscious mother. Haruka rushed over to Serena, almost as panicky and worried as the young girl. 

"Shh... It'll be alright, little one." Michiru pressed the terrified girl to her breast, refusing to allow the child to see any further of the doctors' attempts at reviving the Queen. 

"Momma..." She was crying steadily now, the tears rolling in torrents away from her eyes. 

"Shh..." As she gently stroked the small girl's hair, Michiru looked over at Haruka and the others. Haruka had just opened up the great French doors leading to the interior of the palace. 

"Get her inside, now!" The Uranus Senshi ordered, and they did so. It was obvious that the scene was traumatizing their Princess, and they also knew that the cool shade of the indoors might help in resuscitating the queen. 

Once inside, Haruka began giving orders at the confused personnel inside the palace.

"You!" she pointed at a terrified-looking waiter, 

"Call a doctor!"

"Yes ma'am!" he left, looking extremely anxious.

"Lie her on that sofa!" barked Amara. "Careful! That's your Queen, not a sack of potatoes!"

"Yes ma'am!" As gently as possible, the guard carrying Serenity laid her on the ornate cream-coloured couch. Her golden hair pooled on the tiled floor, her skin was waxy pale, and her lips slightly blue. 

"Uranus, Ma'am, she's not breathing." Said the guard who had set her upon the couch. Haruka gave him a look of disgust, and leaned over her friend. 

"Dammit, Usako," she growled in anger. Haruka was frightened, possibly more so than she had ever been, and when she was scared she became angry. 

She opened Serena's mouth with her fingers to clear the airways, and began to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. 

"One... two..." she forced the life-giving oxygen into Serena's cold and placid body. "Dammit, breathe!"

As Haruka was trying to revive Usagi, a blue-haired, blue-eyed young woman walked in the door; suitcase under one arm, book under the other. She had barely stepped inside the room when the young waiter that had left to find the doctor almost knocked her down. 

"The doctor won't come, Uranus, ma'am," He said, "he's on vacation, ma'am." 

"Doctor?" Ami repeated, glancing around the room. "Oh my God! Usagi!" She ran across the chamber, book and suitcase forgotten. 

"Move aside, Haruka." She ordered, as the Uranus Senshi reluctantly moved back. "What happened?" 

"We don't know," Amara informed the young doctor, "she was outside playing with Rini, and then she collapsed."

"Hmm..." Ami said, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"What worries me is that she still isn't breathing. Did you try mouth-to-mouth?" she inquired of Haruka. She nodded, running a shaky hand through her blonde hair, her face pale.

"One...two..." Ami repeated the mouth-to-mouth procedure, trying to make Usagi breathe. 

"Come on Usako, breathe!" She forced the air between her friend's blue-tinged lips.

"One...two... three..." Ami breathed for Usagi, more forcefully this time. 

Suddenly, Usagi's eyes flew open and she gulped in the air, breathing heavily, but breathing. She was alive. 

That's it for now, peeps!I'll write some more on five shortly, and it should be up soon, but reviews would speed up the process. :) See ya'll later! And feel free to email suggestions or ideas to [lisametcalfe@hotmail.com][1]

Bye ya'll,

Lady Pluto

   [1]: mailto:lisametcalfe@hotmail.com



	5. Unity

Author's Notes:

Author's Notes:

Hey, ya'll. I've had quite a few reviews telling me to continue, so I have. I want to thank all of you for your reviews, because the reviews are what have pressed me to upload new chapters so quickly. 

One reviewer stated that my strange mixture of the Japanese and Cartoon Network versions is confusing, and after reviewing my work, I agree. In doing the fic in the manner I had, I was trying to prevent the confusion a reader who has never seen the Japanese versions feels when reading the Japanese names, but it only made things more confusing. So, from now on, instead of mixing the two as I have done, I will post this;

Usagi=Usako=Serena=Serenity=Sailor Moon

Haruka=Amara=Sailor Uranus

Michiru=Michelle=Sailor Neptune

Mamoru=Darien=Tuxedo Mask

Chibiusa=Rini=Sailor Mini Moon

Makoto=Lita=Sailor Jupiter

Minako=Mina=Sailor Venus

There. Now that should avoid all confusion, and the only names I will use in the remainder of this fic are those from the Japanese version. Have a peachy day!

Disclaimer- I don't own Sailor Moon. Everything but the plot of this fic belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer. They are the geniuses: I am but an amateur. 

The long-awaited chapter five-

*****

The afternoon had barely dawned when Usagi awoke, shining golden light through the small, airy room. Her eyes were still unfocused, and she was having trouble remembering what had happened. Confused and dazed, she sat up, looking into the eyes of her friend Ami. 

"Ami-chan! What are you doing here?" A gentle, yet firm hand was placed across her chest, forcing the queen to lie flat. Ami brushed away quickly the hair from her eyes, before speaking to her childhood friend. 

"You need to lie still, Usagi. You've been through quite an ordeal today, and you need your rest." 

Lying bewildered on the couch, Ami's patient stole another glance among the concerned throng of people before turning urgent blue eyes to the doctor. 

"I need to know, Ami. What happened?" She knew in her heart it wasn't good, knew that her time alive was running short, but her mind refused to believe. The disease, the cancer as the doctors had called it, was eating away at her brain, and every breath she took, every day that dawned, could be her last. 

"You collapsed today, Usako. Do you remember anything?" asked Mercury, her blue eyes staring into Usagi's own, trying to discern something about the petite woman who was her friend and her queen. 

"I only remember playing with Chibiusa and waking up here."

"All of you clear out!" Haruka bellowed. "Allow the queen time alone with the Senshi!" The many people left, shuffling their feet and throwing resentful looks to her. With but a glare on her part, the glances and mutterings around Uranus stopped. 

"Usako, please, what's wrong?" Michiru had just walked through the shining glass doors, yet in time to hear the end words of the conversation. 

"Usagi," Ami said, her blue eyes full of concern and friendly affection, "something is wrong. I know it, Haruka and Michiru know it, why won't you tell us?" 

Usagi's azure-toned eyes grew glassy with unshed tears as she pulled upon her strength to keep them from falling. She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to give herself up to the dreaded, horrible loneliness, the feelings of despair and eternal death. She wanted light, beautiful light, the ray of hope within her soul, the spirit of life. 

Yet as she lay there, hearing her friends' questions but not listening, she felt that gorgeous, precious living spirit fading into the darkness, the absolution of oncoming death. 

"Perhaps I should tell them," she thought, "let them say to me the words I wish to hear. Let them tell me I am not dying, that I am not alone and lonely, that the absolution will not come."

A sparkle on the lake outside caught her eye as she watched through the glass panes of the door. It was sunlight on the crystalline waters, infusing them with its life, its hope. 

"My hope is gone. What if I just let it all go," she was overcome by the sadness and self-pity she felt, "If I just let go, let the shadows consume me... End the pain, the suffering... I have suffered long enough, now let someone else draw up my burden..." Usagi closed her eyes, and inhaled softly the sweet scent of the room and the summer day. 

"Summer," she said, the first words she had spoken to her confused and frustrated Senshi, "The season when life is at its fullest, ripening, blossoming under the golden light of the sun. The light shines everywhere, brightening until it encompasses every life, bringing joy and happiness in its wake." She paused, savoring the beauty of the moment and the place, "And yet, even as everywhere else the light blooms, within me it fades. It recedes into the darkest corners of my being, further with each passing day, and I wonder, I truly wonder, why not give up?" 

"Usako..." Michiru said, her voice full of worry. 

"What are you talking about, Usa-chan?" 

Ami bit her lip as she watched this woman, who had been one of her greatest friends, and still was. She knew the hurt had gone deep when Mamoru had left, but she didn't know how far. Usagi turned her gaze to Ami's, and the young doctor knew: this wasn't about Mamoru; this was about life. Usagi was giving up on life. 

"Oh no you don't, Usagi." Ami said, her voice choking with suppressed grief and anger. "Don't you dare give up."

Haruka saw Usagi's eyes meet with the Mercury Senshi's, and then swiftly look away, filled with tears. 

"I don't know what it is wrong with you, but there are too many people who depend on you for you to give up like this. Look at me, Usako," Ami said forcefully, and Serenity met her gaze, ashamedly and downcast. 

"What about Chibiusa?" Serenity's eyes hardened and she said, quite coldly, 

"Leave her out of this, Ami." 

"Why? I've seen her, and believe me, that little girl loves her mother more than you can see. You're the only parent she has left, Serenity. Will you leave her alone in the world, like Mamoru did you?" 

Ami knew her words were harsh, and perhaps cruel, but Usagi needed to think about this. She had to convince the queen to stay alive. To fight. 

"_I ask you this; remember our child. Remember Rini." _The same words she had spoken to Mamoru, all those years ago. Was she forgetting her child? Was she being a hypocrite? 

"It's cancer." She said at last, knowing the Mercury Senshi had won this small battle. Haruka and Michiru jerked upright, and Ami closed her eyes to hide her pain. 

"Where?" Mercury asked quietly. This had not been what she had expected to hear, and judging from the Outer Senshi's reactions they had not known either. 

"A third-degree tumor, lodged within my brain." 

"Is it operable?" asked Michiru, still reeling from the shock of her friend's deadly illness. Serenity sadly shook her head. 

"There has to be something we can do." Haruka said, with the same violence and passion she had when discussing Raye and Mamoru. 

Usagi sighed. "The doctors are doing all they can. They can't operate because of its position in my brain. I've been going every other week for radiation therapy, and the doctors are still hopeful."

"Hopeful because there's a chance of you getting better, Serenity, or hopeful because they don't want to tell their queen she's dying?" Ami said, and she looked tired and weary. 

"I'm not sure." Usagi answered, watching the young doctor as she shuffled papers in a brown leather briefcase. 

"I'll wait until I know more, Usagi, but I don't want to lie to you. Brain cancer is extremely difficult to treat and to diagnose. You said this was a third-degree tumor?" 

"Yes."

"If it is indeed a third-degree tumor, it is far too large for operation anyway. How is the radiation therapy coming?"

Usagi fidgeted little as she felt Ami's deep, intelligent blue eyes watching her closely. Nervously, she played with a strand of her golden hair as she watched the three worried Senshi about her. 

"I don't know." 

"Usagi, I want to see your medical records and talk to your doctors." Encouragingly, she laid her hand on Usagi's, holding it between her own.

"I feel so alone... so helpless..." Her expressive eyes were discouraged and downcast as she fought the internal struggle only she could face.

"No, Usagi." Haruka said, watching her queen with gentle eyes. She and Michiru walked over to where Usagi lay on the cream-coloured sofa. They both lay their hands on top of Ami's, looking deeply into their friend's eyes. 

"As long as you have us, you aren't alone, Usagi." Ami said, complete certainty in her features. 

"She's right, Usako. Together we can get through this." said Michiru, smiling slightly. 

"Yeah. As long as we're here, Usako, you'll never be alone." 

"Thanks, guys." Serenity said, her spirits lifting. 

"What are friends for?" Haruka smiled, calling on her strength. Usagi needed it now; needed desperately for her Senshi, her friends, to be strong for her. She needed their strength to be able to fight. 

Usagi smiled softly. Her friends. They were being strong for her, giving her their strength so that she might fight the disease and win. Looking at them, she wondered how she could have ever thought she was alone. 

"They're right. I am not alone. With them, I can win." She turned her gaze outside once more, as the day gave way to the night and the moon appeared on the horizon. A new day would dawn for her, a day that would bring light, and hope. 

****

What do you think? Well, be sure to let me know with reviews, and e-mail suggestions or comments to [lisametcalfe@hotmail.com][1]. Thanks, 

Lady Pluto

   [1]: mailto:lisametcalfe@hotmail.com



	6. Innocence

Hey, everyone

"Innocence"

Hey, everyone! Sorry part five took so long, but I got into a fight with my computer and floppy disk that caused extreme frustration and anger... Computer won. *sigh*Oh, well. At least part six is finally here, so I finally won. That's modern technology for you. 

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all related characters and so on and so forth belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer. Only the plot belongs to me, so please don't sue for the only $.25 that I have to my name. I like to drink tea for lunch... 

On with the show!!

Oh, by the way, this part is told strictly from Usagi's POV, as in first-person. If you don't like it written this way and think I should do succeeding chapters in my previous method, do say so. But I won't change this one.Good day and strawberries to you. :)

****

I'm here in my bed again, all the Senshi having returned to theirs, but for the first time since I have learned of this deadly secret I have hope. Hope for the future, hope for my kingdom, hope for my daughter. I know now that even if I shan't survive this undertaking, I know she will be cared for. I have wasted too many years worrying over Mamoru and Raye. Now, finally, I can find within myself forgiveness, should they return to the reunion. At least they have the chance to be happy together. I owe them that. 

Night has come again, following day as it has done and will continue to do, long after I am gone. The night is beautiful, peaceful, serene. Funny, I think, is why I am named after such a peaceful feeling, when most of the time my life is naught but turmoil. 

There is so much to do, so much to prepare for. The time between now and the reunion is coming to a close, and I have done but so little. Haruka, Michiru, and Ami say they will be here for me throughout the course of my illness, whether or not I should survive. 

We have done so much already, ever since we were but teenagers we have faced the deadliest creatures Earth has ever seen. And yet, I always knew the end would come, but I imagined it in the grasp of a youma or the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal, not within the shadow of a deadly disease. So many times I have faced death, in destroying a youma or in a victim I could not save, and I sit here now, contemplating my own.

Yes, I know I said that I am hopeful; but hope isn't an easy emotion to hold on to when your world falls apart around you. It is so much easier to let go; to stop fighting and give up. But that is the coward's way out; I am not a coward, I could not possibly be with the things I have done.

It's true I wasn't the bravest Senshi during my youth, but I like to think I have matured since then. It is surprising what marriage and motherhood can change in a person. 

More people should be arriving in the morning. The reunion is but two days away, and already I grow anxious to see my friends again. Oh, how we have drifted apart these past few years; too busy with careers or love lives, and my divorce from Mamoru. All these things have made us strangers, and I long for the closeness and innocence we once shared. 

The day is over; it is time for sleep. My mind and body are undeniably tired, and I expect tomorrow shall prove eventful. 

****

Well, what do you think? Is it getting interesting? At least you know what's wrong, now.Please, review! 

Lady Pluto


End file.
